A Home of Their Own

A renovated East Austin house serves Ben Siegel and Lauren Pasternack today and tomorrow

By Nadia Chaudhury | Photos by Nicole Mlakar

Published: October 31, 2016

Ben Siegel and Lauren Pasternack knew what sort of house they wanted before they even saw it: something they could fill with their lives over time. That’s what the couple found when they happened upon a Craftsman-style house in the East Cesar Chavez neighborhood in 2014. The home needed a lot of work. It was also exactly what they were looking for.

Siegel, who owns Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden on Rainey Street, and Pasternack, who recently started design company In Good Taste Design and is a member of the board of directors for nonprofit HOPE Campaign, wanted to remain true to the neighborhood, but they still strived to make the home their own. They kept the Craftsman frame and footprint but knocked everything else down to the studs, salvaging the materials and then rebuilding. “The look, feel and shape of the house is the same” as the original building, Siegel says. It is a house built for the couple and their 11-month-old son, Hank, and two bulldogs, Deputy Gherkin and Miss Pickles.

While Pasternack designed the house (she dedicated six months to the project), she had help from draftsman Peter Hollister of Hollister House & Home and Rick McMinn of Image General Contracting. The initial renovation plan was inspired by the style inside and out, but as the couple continued to design and build, the plan somehow “shifted into a rustic bungalow,” Pasternack recalls. By incorporating white touches (her pick) and wood (his) and making use of the materials they had at hand, the home became a “balance of both of our design aesthetics,” Siegel says.

Just about everything inside had a previous life: from the wood window trimmings that came from the original building and the cast-iron bathtub found on the first floor (Siegel and Pasternack moved the tub upstairs, into the master suite) to the wooden floors from Rainey Street bars. “We tried to reuse as much material as we possibly could,” Pasternack says. Habitat for Humanity, Craigslist and flea markets were all sources, too.

The “heart of the home,” as Pasternack calls it, lies in the open kitchen. A heavy butcher-block island, designed by Chris Wilhite, is made up of more than 1,400 pieces, and the stainless steel and brass commercial-grade vent hood came at a bargain price because of a dent that has since been covered up with white tiles.

Even before the house was completed (as is typical in Austin, the finishing date kept being pushed back), the couple was creating memories in the space. In March, Siegel rigged up some electricity and proposed to Pasternack. They moved in two months later and are now planning their wedding to take place in their new backyard.

Positioned as the backyard’s centerpiece is a giant heritage pecan tree, which is where the 33-year-olds will exchange vows. There’s also an original woodshed and a homemade smoker for Siegel’s meaty inclinations. Nestled out there is Wilma, their honeymoon trailer that they’ll use to trek across the country with the whole family after the wedding.

The second floor is dedicated fully to the master bedroom, where that first-floor bathtub now resides and where Siegel’s collection of Banger’s hats is on display. Originally, the ceiling was closed off, but the couple opened it up, and “it was really important to us to keep all the peaks,” Pasternack says, because it was “so funky.” That resulted in high-angled ceilings, making the space feel like a well-designed attic.

Creating a house from essentially the ground up was intentional. “We were able to envision our future,” she says, “and make it happen.” Even though most of the house is technically new, “you come in, and it feels like it’s been here for a long time,” Siegel says. Neighbors often tell them, “Thank you for not tearing it down and building something modern.”

Pasternack and Siegel have big plans for the future. They purchased the lot next door, and Siegel has dreams of cultivating the land for produce-bearing gardens and chickens, maybe even expanding the smoker setup and extending the house if the family grows.

“We just like to have a house that feels like a home for everyone who walks in it,” Pasternack says. As the family changes, so will the house.